Day 24
3x5 Squats 245
3x5 Mil Press, 125
3x5 Power Cleans, 125
One of the interns we hired over the summer actually knows something about lifting, so I was able to get some form pointers from him. I was dropping into the hole on the squat a little to quickly, and slowing down definately made it easier to keep from bending forwards.
On the power cleans, I wasn’t really getting a lot of explosion before, and he was able to help me get my form down. Feels much better now, but I’m going to be working my way back up to avoid losing it again and going back to my old ways.
Right now, I’m planning on spending 4 more weeks on SS, and then moving on to Maximum Strength, by Cressey. I was origonally planning a 12 week cut in between, but I’ve decided for a number of personal reasons (I.e. my wife is getting sick of me not eating any carbs) to go ahead and skip the cut, and do a relatively clean bulk for the next year or so.
After Maximum Strength, I’m going to try Size and Strength v2 for 12 weeks, then go with HSS-100 and Beast Building, followed up by an HSS-100 specialization routine if needed. I’m hoping to add about 20lbs of lean mass, with no more then a 1:1 fat to muscle ratio( hopefully much less) which will put me at between 230 and 250lbs.
I’ll reassess once I get closer, but I’ll probably do just enough of a cut to get down to 12% bf or so if needed, and then do another year of bulking. I’d like to end up at around 250 lean, so we’ll see how it goes.
Work has a been a best the last few days, but I did manage to get down to the gym for just long enough to test my bench press 1RM. Tomorrow I’ll test my squat, and then hopefully go back to a normal workout schedule.
barx5
135x3
205x3
215x3
225x2
235x1
245x0
240x0
Well, I never got down to the gym for a squat max, but oh well. I did get to the gym today, although I was rushed for time and running off of 4 hours of sleep, so it wasn’t the greatest workout energy-wise.
Day 25
3x5 Squats, 250lbs
2x5, 1x4 Bench, 205 lbs
1x1 Deadlifts, 295lbs (ran out of time and took no rest between bench and deads, didn’t really work)
Day 26
3x5 Squats 255
3x5 Mil Press, 130
3x5 Power Cleans, 130
Back after 2 weeks of work overload. Didn’t lose any strength, so that’s good, and now I can get back to progressing.
Day 27
3x5 Squats, 260lbs
x5, 1x4, 1x2 Bench, 210 lbs
1x5 Deadlifts, 295lbs
Hitched a little on the last two reps of the deads, so I’ll be holding those and the bench weight steady next workout.
Day 28 (yesterday)
3x5 Squats 265
3x5 Mil Press, 135
3x5 Power Cleans, 135
The last set of military presses were really more push presses then strict military presses, so I’ll be going for 135 again next on Friday.
I had someone work out with me yesterday, which was interesting. One of the guys in my office found out I lift, and asked to tag along. The only lifting he’s done prior to this was 55 lb bench presses and distance running. It looks like he’s going to be tagging along for the next few weeks at the very lest, so it should be interesting.
Day 29
1x2 Squats, 270lbs, 1x2 265, 1x1 225
2x5, 1x3, Bench, 210 lbs
1x5 Deadlifts, 295lbs
My right hip adductor started acting up again today, and pretty much killed my squats. My form is still pretty tight, so I’m beginning to think that my knee my be weak, and my hip is compensating. I’m going to pick up some knee wraps (probably should have already), and see if that helps. Everything else went well. Workout partner came along again, bench improved (although I’ll probably drop back to 205 for the next set and then move back up), and deadlifts felt much better.
Day 30
3x5 Squats 225
2x5, 1x4 Mil Press, 135
3x5 Power Cleans, 140
225 on the squats was about the max I could do without my leg acting up. I’m going to order a pair of redbands, and we’ll see what happens. I think I’m going to need to back off on the military presses and work back up, so I drop down to about 120-125 and see how that goes. I’m looking forward to moving on to maximum strength, I think 12 weeks on SS is about enough.
Day 31
3x5 Squats, 235lbs
3x5, Bench, 210 lbs
1x5 Deadlifts, 300lbs
Good session overall. Work got completely out of control on Monday, but that did give me time to get my rehbands and let my leg heal up. The knee sleeves made a huge difference in the squats, I really should have picked up a pair about 100 lbs ago.
Accessory Day
2x5, 1x4 Chins, 30lbs assistance
2x4,1x3 Dips, 25 lbs
Planks and side planks, 15sec each
2x60ft Farmer’s carry, 100lbs per hand.
I actually had some free time this morning, so I was able to hit the gym. I’m going to start doing my chins and dips, and other accessory lifts on the day following my deadlift session, since I really do need to get them in, and I’m just not getting enough time at the gym on my main lifting days. I may also add some rowing machine HIT back in on the other off day.
Day 32
3x5 Squats 245
2x5, 1x4 Mil Press, 120
3x5 Power Cleans, 145
I actually lost count of my power cleans on the last set, since one of the trainers was helping correct the power clean form of the guy I’ve been lifting with.
Day 33
3x5 Squats, 255lbs
2x5,1x4 Bench, 215 lbs
1x5 Deadlifts, 305lbs
Thanks, its coming along nicely. I think I could have made a little more progress on the squats and deadlifts if I had made some small changes early on, but all in all its gone pretty well.
Day 34 (missed friday’s workout)
3x5 Squats, 260lbs
1x5,1x4,1x2 Bench, 220lbs
1x5 Deadlifts, 310lbs
The air was off in the gym today, so it was a good 10-15 degrees warmer in there then usual. Squats and deads went well, but it looks like I’m going to have to re-set the bench. I was hoping to hit 225 before resetting, but oh well.
Accessory Day
2x5, 1x5 Chins, 30lbs/40lbs assistance
3x5 Dips, 25 lbs
2x90ft Farmer’s carry, 100lbs per hand.
2x8 curls, 20lb dumbbells
Day 35
3x5 Squats, 265lbs
3x5 Mil Press, 125lbs
1x5, 2x3 Power Cleans, 150lbs.
Day 36
3x5 Squats, 270lbs
1x5, 1x3, 1x2 Bench, 225lbs
1x5 Deadlifts, 315lbs.
And that wraps up Starting Strength. On monday, I’m going to start madcow’s intermediate 5x5 program, so I’ll deload a bit and hopefully keep gaining. Below are my 5RM now and then.
Lifts Start Now Change
Squat 185 270 85
Bench 155 225 70
Deadlift 195 315 120
Military Press 95 135 40
Power Clean 135 150 15
Madcows/Bill Star’s 5x5
Day 1
Squat 5x5, 130lbs, 160, 195, 225, 260
Bench 5x5, 105lbs, 130, 155, 180, 210
Power Cleans 5x5, 70lbs, 90, 105, 120, 140
Workout took a little longer then Starting Strength, but all in all it wasn’t bad. I like the weight ramping, and it feels good to de-load the bench and the power cleans. I pulled the squats back some, but only by about 2 weeks. I’ll do the same with the deadlifts on Wednesday, since I just restarted those two lifts a few weeks ago. Everything else has been set back by 4 weeks, so I should get pretty good mileage out of this.
Day 2
Squat 4x5, 130, 165, 195, 195
Mil Press 4x5, 80, 95, 110, 125
Deadlifts 4x5, 190, 225, 265, 300
Accessory day
Farmers Walk, 100lb dumbbells, 2x120ft
sit ups, 15, 4
I hate running late to work, but at least I got my grip work in.